On Jan. 17, an officer in West Pikeland Township saw a white sedan pass a waiting patrol car and slow almost to a stop on Kimberton Road.

Police said the officer followed the car and noted that it was not keeping a regular rate of speed. A search for the license plate number turned up a Phoenixville address, police said.

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The driver, later identified as Thornton-Bey, did not stop the car after the officer turned on his emergency lights and sirens, police said. Thornton-Bey finally pulled into in the parking lot of the Chester Springs Post Office but left after two minutes, police said. He continued driving until he pulled into the parking lot of Tom Oats Car Dealership, police said.

At that time, the officer called for back-up because Thornton-Bey drove around the entire building.

The officer made contact with Thornton-Bey, who still had the car on. According to police, the officer believed Thornton-Bey was still looking for a way to escape.

While the officer was walking back to his patrol car after taking Thornton-Bey’s identification, Thornton-Bey exited the car and tried to run, police said.

The officer stopped him approximately 30 yards from the white sedan.

According to police, Thornton-Bey resisted arrest and only under the threat of a stun gun finally stopped. While police were searching his pockets they found pill bottles, a small amount of marijuana, and 13 small bags of cocaine. Police also found two white pills in plain view on the floor of the car. He was taken into custody.

A few weeks earlier, on Dec. 30 around midnight, a Phoenixville police officer noticed a dark blue Buick LaSabre driving north on W. Phoenix Drive with no rear lighting.

According to police, Thornton-Bey did not stop the car when the officer activated the sirens and emergency lights on his patrol car.

Thornton-Bey continued to drive until the car hit a mailbox on Vincent Drive, police said. After the car stopped, Thornton-Bey exited the car and started running through the neighborhood, police said.

Officers were unable to catch him, and when they returned to the vehicle, they found the two passengers in the car, a bookbag and a cell phone, police said.

Later that day, Phoenixville police received a call from a woman saying her apartment had been burglarized. When officers arrived in the 200 block of Walnut Street, they found an apartment that was “destroyed.”

According to police, a television was broken, the couch was slashed apart, a bed had been destroyed and the mattress thrown into the living room.

The victim told officers she knew it was Thornton-Bey because he left a note at the scene and she recognized his handwriting, police said.